Srinagar : The 434-km-long Srinagar-Leh national highway remained closed for the second day on Tuesday due to fresh snowfall and slippery road condition, while Kashmir highway and historic Mughal road are through for one-way traffic only, a traffic police official said.
Meanwhile, personnel from state police and Beacon rescued 250 passengers and 82 vehicles, mostly trucks, stranded on the highway following heavy snowfall at Zojilla.
There was fresh snowfall early this morning on the highway, linking the Ladakh region with Kashmir, traffic a police official told TNN.
He said due to accumulation of snow and slippery condition traffic remained suspended for the second day.
He said Beacon, responsible for the maintenance of the highway, have been pressed into service to put through the highway. Since there was threat of avalanches at several places, resumption of traffic on the highway will depend upon the weather improvement and road condition, he said.
Once the road is put through, vehicles stranded at Kargil and Meenmarg will be allowed to move towards Sonamarg in central Kashmir. The vehicles from Sonamarg will be allowed to proceed towards Kargil.
A police spokesman said that police and Beacon launched a massive rescue operation after a fresh spell of heavy snowfall at Zojila and evacuated several stranded vehicles and passengers during the past 24 hours.
He said rescue teams of Jammu and Kashmir Police assisted by the Beacon personnel started the rescue operations on Srinagar- Leh National Highway at Zojila after several vehicles and passengers got stranded due to heavy snowfall in the area.
He said after strenuous efforts, the rescue teams managed to safely evacuate all the 250 stranded passengers and 82 vehicles which include 70 trucks, four buses and 8 Light Motor Vehicles (LMVs). All these vehicles and passengers were shifted to Sonamarg in the central Kashmir district of Ganderbal by the rescue teams.
Drivers commuting on Srinagar-Leh National Highway are requested to use chains on their vehicles before undertaking their journeys as the road has become very slippery.
Traffic spokesman said only one-way traffic was being allowed on Kashmir highway and today vehicles will ply from Jammu to Srinagar. No vehicle will be allowed from opposed direction. He said the vehicles will ply from Kashmir to Jammu only. Hundreds of vehicles, including trucks loaded with fruit and empty oil tankers, left valley for Jammu and other mandis across the country this morning.
Similarly, the 86-km-long historic Mughal road, connecting Shopian in south Kashmir with Rajouri and Poonch in Jammu region, was also open for only one-way. Today traffic will ply from Rajouri and Poonch to Shopian he said, adding that no traffic will be allowed from opposite direction.
